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I read a conversation between two friends of mine on instagram DM and I can't help but wonder how would Italians say what they (my friends) have said in Italian. Here is what they were talking about: "God! I've got too many stalkers to count! Tired to block them!"- friend A
"Good luck dealing with a mentally unstable online stalker on here! I said "a" 'cause I'm sure they are just one person."- friend B

I searched the word "stalker" in Italian and I'm amazed that it's "stalker" as well? Is there a pure Italian word for stalker (or in this case online stalker)? Grazie mille in advance for translation and helping me to understand. :)

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    Welcome to Italian.SE, @Santo!
    – Charo ♦
    Commented Jun 26, 2015 at 6:26
  • Related: english.stackexchange.com/questions/248632/…
    – user519
    Commented Jun 26, 2015 at 12:18
  • Stop al femminicidio. Decreto legge anti-stalking del Governo Letta-Alfano: denuncia irrevocabile e difesa gratuita. kayenna.net/dovere-di-cronaca/…
    – user519
    Commented Jun 26, 2015 at 12:24
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    "Stalking" and "stalker" were included in the Italian dictionaries around 2007-2010. Accademia della Crusca explains possible interpretations and synonyms (pedinatore, persecutore, inseguitore e molestatore), but if one wants to say "stalker" as an Italian word, it's also OK.
    – I.M.
    Commented Jun 27, 2015 at 0:00

2 Answers 2

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The word "stalker" is often used in the Italian language without a direct translation. In fact, also in the Italian legislation, the crime related to "stalking" exists, without any translation from English.

A close translation, however, could be "molestatore" (from verb "molestare", that's "to bother", "to molest") or "persecutore" ("persecutor", in English).

In conclusion, you are fine also by saying "stalker" in Italy too! Hope this helps.

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    Are you sure that the word “stalking” or “stalker” is actually used in Italian law? The law about this crime is art. 612 bis of Codice Penale, and it calls the crime “Atti persecutori”.
    – DaG
    Commented Jun 26, 2015 at 9:58
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    @DaG: maybe you are right from a strictly, formal point of view. But in newspapers and television you always listen at "stalking", especially during crime news. So, Italian language accepts the word "stalking". Since you are quoting the Article, you can see that the english form is expressed as well: gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2014/06/18/T-140172/s1.
    – Andrea
    Commented Jun 26, 2015 at 10:29
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    Yes, newspapers and everybody else use commonly the English word; I was just asking whether it was used in official texts too. Thanks a lot for the Corte Costituzionale ruling you linked to; I still wonder whether the title («cosiddetto stalking») is an integral part of the ruling or an “editorial” addition by Gazzetta Ufficiale. Anyhow, there is no crime officially named “stalking” in Italian.
    – DaG
    Commented Jun 26, 2015 at 11:38
  • Now that we have Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, we can see there some examples of use of "stalker" and "stalking" from Italian newspapers, magazines and books.
    – Charo ♦
    Commented Jul 25, 2019 at 19:11
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I'd say if you really do not want to use an English word just say "uno (o una) che mi perseguita", maybe even more neutral with "uno (o una) che mi pedina". In case of a non coresponded lover it is just a "spasimante".

Of course there are many "slang" alternatives of stalker in Italian but they are only locally understood and most probably only by young people... ;) "un peso", "una palla", "uno psicopatico", etc.

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    Welcome to Italian.SE and thanks for your answer!
    – Charo ♦
    Commented Jun 26, 2015 at 8:11
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    I'd like to point out that the term "stalker" in Italian, if used in a serious context and not in a joking way, is somewhat stronger than "uno che mi perseguita" and usually means someone prone to criminal harassment. You could say, seriously, "c'è il mio vicino che mi perseguita per via delle biciclette fuori posto!" to describe an obnoxious neighbor, but you wouldn't call him "a stalker", unless you really want to make a joke about the situation.
    – LorenzoDonati4Ukraine-OnStrike
    Commented Jul 1, 2015 at 19:15
  • un psicopatico :)
    – user922
    Commented Oct 16, 2015 at 9:50
  • I would be pretty sure the correct form is "unO psicopatico".. :)
    – tent
    Commented Oct 17, 2015 at 20:33
  • It also came to my mind that also the word "spasimante" could be somehow a potential transaltion of stalker in italian.. but just if the situation involves somebody trying to (uneffectively) convince another one to be sexually attractive, and if it remains something really "soft".
    – tent
    Commented Oct 17, 2015 at 20:38

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